Gender Equity Council (GEC) Annual Report, 2006-07

Charge: The Gender Equity Council is charged to act in consultation with the Chancellor to

• Oversee the development of programs that support goals, objectives and initiatives of the Ten Year Plan addressing women's issuesIdentify persons responsible for implementing this plan
• Evaluate the effectiveness of programs designed to accomplish this plan.

Roster: Helen Bannan, Jennifer Castillo, Jill Collier, Amanda Coleman-Mason, Kathleen Donnelly, Michelle Jensen, Nadejda Kaltcheva, Laura Knaapen, Jane Kramer, Margaret Manzi, MaryBeth Petesch, Shelly Rutz, Kelli Saginak, Lakshmi Tatikonda, Debra Vercauteren, Jean Westerhaus, Jane Wypiszynski There was difficulty getting a student representative last year. I’m happy to report there was no such problem this year. We welcomed the addition of our student voice, Jean Westerhaus. Jean will continue with the committee at least one more year. Meeting Dates and Hours Spent Meeting: 9/22/06, 10/18/06, 11/16/06, 3/26/07, 4/10/07, 4/16/07, 04/24/07, 04/30/07, 05/08/07 The committee meets at least monthly. Subcommittees meet in between those monthly meetings. The total number of hours spent in meetings was about 20 hours. Brief Description of Committee Activities: Key issues for the Gender Equity Council this year were continuing the policy work with the Human Resources office, planning and carrying out the annual Celebration of Women event, reviewing the Ten Year Plan/Status of Women Report, and dealing with campus climate. Ann Malain presented information to the Council on Care, MenCare and CVPP (Campus Violence Prevention Project) at a fall meeting. The role of the Council in relation to CVPP was discussed. The GEC could take an advisory committee role with CVPP. Ann agreed to work with the Forums subcommittee on sexual harassment training. The GEC reviewed the work the Policy subcommittee and Human Resources Office presented on GEN 3 – Employment Considerations. The changes dealt with more inclusive language in the Sick Leave and Family Medical and Catastrophic Leave sections. GEC support for the changes was communicated with the Provost. The next area for the policy subcommittee to review is policies relating to the tenure clock. The Forums/Programs subcommittee, headed by Michelle Jensen, was instrumental in planning the Seventh Annual Celebration of Women event held on campus on April 19th. Eileen Connolly-Keesler, executive director of the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation and UW System Regent, was the featured speaker for the breakfast buffet. The event was well-attended by faculty, staff, and students. The Council began a review of the 2006 Status of Women Report and Ten Year Plan in order to plan future priorities for Council and campus initiatives. While we were not able to complete this review, the following areas were discussed.

Section A – Organizational Structure: Implementation Committee

Item A3 – Tone of shared community

a. The GEC needs to let the Chancellor know when we feel the tone is not being set.
b. The GEC will propose that accountability for building a sense of shared community for women students, faculty, and staff be included as part of the orientation for department chairs. The GEC will contact Perry Rettig with this request.

Item A4 – Plan in conjunction with existing offices, programs, committees

a. The GEC will select 2 of the units listed to work on establishing closer connections over the next year.

Item A6 - Funding

a. The GEC will notify the University Foundation of funding needs, especially in support of the Women's Center.

Item A7 – Evaluation of programs

a. The GEC will ask the Women's Center to provide evaluation of programs and the GEC Women's Center Advisory subcommittee to report back the results.

Item A8 – Keeping others informed

a. Each one of us as representatives of students, faculty and staff need to report back to our constituencies on a regular basis to keep them informed and engaged.

Section B – Learning and Working Environment

Item B1a – Provide workshops, forums, and training

a. Since there are many groups providing programs and workshops, the GEC might serve the university community best by promoting these offerings and encouraging specific topics.

Item B1b – Infuse awareness and sensitivity training

a. The GEC will promote CVPP and LGBTQ training for all CAs; SAFE training for all students annually. b. The GEC will work with the Dean of Students office to implement these topics in Odyssey.

Item B1c – Leadership training

a. Initiatives for employees and students were discussed.

Item B2 – Strengthen university system response to discrimination, harassment, sexual violence

a. A campus-wide clearinghouse is in the works and should be viable by June 30, 2007.
b. This seemed like a repeat from goal 1

Item B3 – Provide a system for supporting women facing learning/work issues

a. Training is needed for the new GEC members.
b. The Women’s Center moved to its new location in May 2004.

Item B4 – Ensure safety and security

a. More funding is needed to maintain RAD training.

Section C – Balancing Work and Personal Life

We did not have time to review this section.

Section D – Hiring, Promotion and Retention of Women

We did not have time to review this section.

The GEC also discussed and met with the Chancellor about the Advanced Titan April Fools Issue, which most found to be offensive and an indicator of an un-accepting if not intolerant climate on campus.

Summary:

If last year’s achievement was creating a closer working relationship between HR and the GEC, then this year’s (and last year’s) failure was not having a closer working relationship or line of communication with the Chancellor. Hopefully Shelly Rutz, the new GEC chair, will be able to make and strengthen that connection. The success of the year was tackling the review of the Status of Women and Ten Year Plan reports. I hope the GEC will complete the review of the Ten Year Plan so that the GEC can focus on some clear, manageable goals.

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